The environment

Mr Hammond said he will publish a call for evidence on whether the tax relief for agricultural diesel contributes to air pollution and will consult on tax cuts for low-emission vans.

As widely trailed, he also announced plans to consult on what can be done to reduce the use of single-use plastics in an attempt to tackle Britain’s mountain of plastic waste. Alongside this, he announced a £20m fund to help universities develop technological solutions for eco-friendly packaging.

VAT

Responding to an Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) review last yearwhich found the VAT registration threshold may be dis-incentivising small businesses from growing their business, the chancellor announced plans to launch a call for evidence which will explore the effect of the current threshold on small businesses. In our response to the OTS review, we raised concerns that lowering the VAT threshold would begin to encompass an increasing number of small and medium sized charities within the registration requirement, many of whom have seen significant falls in income from various sources since the recession and recovery.

Mr Hammond also said that he will consult on a new VAT collection mechanism for online payments and how to encourage digital payments.

Business rates

Also published was the government’s responseto its recent consultation on the frequency of business rates revaluation, which is being brought forward to every three years instead of five, starting from 2021. Charities with property typically pay a maximum of 20% of their rates bill, although rates still represent a significant cost. Rate payers will see a smoothing of their rate bills as a result of the more frequent revaluations, although they are more likely to be affected by rate rises as they primarily operate in urban areas where property price growth tends to be highest.

Get In Touch

About

Salford CVS is the city-wide infrastructure organisation for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector; providing specialist information, advice, development support and opportunities for influence and collaboration.